New Law Permits French Employees to Ignore Late-Night Work Emails

The new employment law requires French companies with more than 50
employees to begin drawing up policies with their workers about limiting
work-related technology usage outside the office, the newspaper
reported.

The motivation behind the legislation is to stem
work-related stress that increasingly leaks into people's personal time —
and hopefully prevent employee burnout, French officials said.

“Employees
physically leave the office, but they do not leave their work. They
remain attached by a kind of electronic leash, like a dog,” Benoit
Hamon, Socialist member of Parliament and former French education
minister, told the BBC in May.
“The texts, the messages, the emails: They colonize the life of the
individual to the point where he or she eventually breaks down.

The "right to disconnect" law is part of a series of reforms designed to relax France's employment regulations.